Du Livre: [Promo Post]Atlantis Rising

I looked toward the wall of windows. I hadn't been outside in three days. “I’d like to go for a drive,” I said.

Ten minutes later I was drinking in the hot, polluted air of Las Vegas and loving it.

“Air conditioning, or windows down?” Ian asked.

“Windows down, please.”

I laid my head back. Warm wind brushed against my face like soft kisses. I let my

arm dangle out the window. Imagine Dragons’ Demons came through the speakers. “This is one of my favorites,” I said.

“I know,” he said, turning the volume up. “I checked your playlist yesterday.”

I smiled. “Stalker school again?”

He drove the back streets while I slumped in the passenger seat and practiced

breathing. All the pressure and stress of the past three days seemed to evaporate. When he

pulled into the shade of a tree at a well-watered park, I felt a lot better about life.

Ian leaned back in his seat too. “Why did you throw me out of your mind when I

asked your greatest fear?” he asked, looking over at me. “Are you afraid of dying? That’s the

answer most people give.”

“I don’t fear dying so much,” I replied honestly. “After the party the other night I

realized I’ve been half alive for most of my life. There’s really not much difference between

half alive and fully dead, is there?”

“Are you afraid of fighting Sebastian Truss?” he pressed.

“No. I’ve gotten pretty comfortable with the idea of pain recently.”

“What is it then?”

I watched a dog run up to a magpie in the park. The bird rose in flight and hovered

above dog as if taunting him. I wondered what it would feel like to fly away from danger.

Maybe it had a nest and a mate to go back to. He was lucky if he did.

The fear I wasn't going to tell Ian about was my reality. I was going to be alone for the rest of my life.